Education Grants, Scholarships and Loans

Grants: Book

2009 In accordance with Section 111 of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the Department's Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) issued a net price calculator template. All institutions participating in student financial aid programs have two years to implement use of the template on their web sites or develop a customized version that must include, at a minimum, the same elements as the Department's version. Utilizing both student-entered and institution-provided data, the template allows prospective students to calculate a net price at an institution using the following basic formula: price of attendance minus grant aid.

Tools That Help You apply to College and find Scholarship or Grant Money.

Use One Application to apply to all the colleges online.

Zinch.com profile to get started on their college applications. Zinch simply imports the information into the CollegeZapps application solution. The student then completes any missing fields and, simple as that, the student's applications are ready to view, edit, print and send!

CollegeZapps is dedicated to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the college application process through the use of leading-edge technology.

COLLEGE LOANS

Even while Christopher was lying in the hospital, banks were calling about repayment of those loans for which his father had co-signed.

Private Student Loans

While the government forgives federal loans if a student dies or is disabled, lenders of private student loans are not required to do so. In fact, they can bury language in the loan agreement that requires co-signers pay the balance in full immediately upon the original borrower's death.

Families who take out private student loans should consider credit insurance, which covers repayment of loans in the event of death or disability. They can also shop around for private student loans with forgiveness policies in the case of the original borrower's death.
Federal loans can be cancelled after his death without a problem because the government cancels student loans if a student dies.

Debt collectors are ruthless. By law, debt collectors must go through a debtor's attorney if one has been hired, but even after Reynoso hired an attorney, he said they continued to call him every day, several times a day, for about a year and a half:

College Loans graduates' annual loan payments, now capped so that they only have to pay back 10% of their income. Banks get deleted!

July 20, 2012 StudentAid.gov is the initial step in a multi-phase project to offer a “one-stop shop” where consumers can access federal student aid information, apply for federal aid, repay student loans, and navigate the college decision-making process.
Available in English and Spanish and fully accessible on smartphones and tablets, the web site combines content and interactive tools from several web sites and features instructional videos and infographics to help answer frequent questions about financial aid. Also, the Department has revamped its federal student aid-related social media sites, including
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/FederalStudentAid
Twitter (http://twitter.com/FAFSA), and
YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/federalstudentaid), to provide more options for students to learn about student aid.
These resources, along with the Financial Awareness Counseling Tool https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/financialAwarenessCounselingLanding.actionintroduced earlier this month, are the agency’s response to President Obama’s June 7 directive to enhance online and mobile resources for loan repayment options and debt management.

2013 Pay As You Earn: Federal student loan repayment plan
A new federal student loan repayment plan went into effect late last month that could lower borrowers’ monthly bills. The plan, known as “Pay as You Earn,” caps monthly payments for many recent graduates at an amount that is affordable based on their income. This option follows through on President Obama’s pledge to provide borrowers with relief on their payments and help them responsibly manage their debt.
The Pay as You Earn plan, which the President first announced in October 2011, caps payments for federal Direct Student Loans at 10% of discretionary income for eligible borrowers. The Department estimates as many as 1.6 million borrowers could reduce their monthly bills with this plan. The plan complements other repayment plans offered to help borrowers manage their debt, including Income-Based Repayment (IBR), which caps payments at 15% of borrowers’ discretionary income. (Borrowers who are ineligible for Pay as You Earn may still qualify for IBR, which more than 1.3 million borrowers already use.)
While borrowers may pay more in interest in the long run, Pay as You Earn can provide relief on loan payments, especially in early years of repayment, and help ensure that borrowers avoid the consequences of defaulting on their student loans. http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/understand/plans/pay-as-you-earn

financial aid award letter, known as the Shopping Sheet

On 9/25/12, the Department announced that over 300 institutions have voluntarily adopted the Administration’s model financial aid award letter, known as the Shopping Sheet (http://collegecost.ed.gov/shopping_sheet.pdf), for the 2013-14 academic year. This letter makes student costs clear up front -- before students have enrolled -- by outlining total estimated annual costs; how much grant money students will receive, and how much they may have to take out in the form of student loans; the school’s graduation and default rates; and an estimate of monthly loan payments after graduation. The institutions that have adopted the Shopping Sheet represent more than 1.9 million students, or 10% of the total undergraduate population. <more> http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/09/

July 24, the Department unveiled the Administration’s model financial aid award letter, known as the Shopping Sheet (http://collegecost.ed.gov/shopping_sheet.pdf). The Department partnered with the CFPB to develop the Shopping Sheet to promote transparency in student aid financial disclosures. The Shopping Sheet makes student costs clear up front -- before students have enrolled -- by outlining total estimated annual costs; how much grant money students will receive, and how much they may have to take out in the form of student loans; the institution’s graduation and default rates; and an estimate of monthly loan payments after graduation. While the Shopping Sheet is not mandatory, its format should be considered a best practice in helping students to compare costs across different institutions. Indeed, Secretary Duncan published an open letter to more than 7,000 college and university presidents http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/guid/secletter/120724.html asking them to voluntarily adopt the Shopping Sheet as part of their financial aid awards beginning in the 2013-14 academic year.

student loan cohort default rates

9/28/12 the Department issued the official FY 2010 two-year and FY 2009 three-year federal student loan cohort default rates. This is the first time the agency has issued an official three-year rate, which was 13.4% nationwide for the FY 2009 cohort -- a slight decrease from the trial three-year rate of 13.8% for the FY 2008 cohort. For-profit institutions registered the highest average three-year default rates, at 22.7%, with public institutions at 11% and private, non-profit institutions at 7.5%. As required by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, the Department is in the process of switching from a two- to a three-year cohort default rate measurement.(The two-year rate rose from 8.8% in FY 2009 to 9.1% in FY 2010.) Congress mandated this transition because there are more borrowers who default beyond the two-year window, and the three-year rate is a more accurate picture of how many borrowers ultimately default on their loans. Schools with excessive default rates (of at least 40% in a single year or 25% or greater for three consecutive years) may lose eligibility from one or more federal student aid programs. This year, two schools are subject to sanctions. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE GO TO http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/defaultmanagement/cdr.html. (Note: The public can search for individual school default rates at http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds

studies on tuition, fees, and degrees

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the Department’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), published new postsecondary education studies on tuition, fees, and degrees http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/ and employees, salaries, and student financial aid http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/

Program Contact Information
For general information about the Federal student aid programs, assistance in completing the FAFSA, and information about FAFSA on the Web, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at the following toll-free number: 1-800-433-3243

Student Financial Assistance (site 1)
This is The U.S. Department of Education's student financial aid site for 1) Finding Out About Financial Aid: for tuition tax credits, federal assistance programs, state loans, and more, and 2) Applying for Federal Student Aid: helps you pick an electronic aid application (FAFSA), so you can apply for student aid right over the Internet. For immediate answers about federal student aid, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center: 1-800-433-3243.

Student Financial Assistance (site 2)
The U.S. Department of Education administers several major student aid programs, including Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, which provide over $42 billion a year to help millions of students pay for the costs of college. Whether you're ready to apply for financial aid or just interested in more information about the federal student aid programs, this is a great starting point.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
To apply for federal financial aid, and to apply for many state student aid programs, students must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Electronic versions of the FAFSA make applying for financial aid faster and easier than ever.

America's Career Infonet
The Find Financial Assistance for Education and Training page contains many resources: state and national sources of financial aid, learn about the financial aid process and identify general sources of financial aid, and visit the Financial Aid Advisor Tool.

P.L.A.T.O.
P.L.A.T.O. loan program that has been around for over 10 years, serving as a complete source for financing education and training. If you need a loan to advance your skills, chances are P.L.A.T.O. can help.

Embark
Guide helps students research colleges and business schools, prepare and send applications, and obtain financing.

Education Resources Institute (TERI)
Founded in 1985 to provide education financing to students and their families, TERI is a private, not-for-profit organization that helps to fill the financial aid gap. TERI offers loans based on credi worthiness, not income limitations. These loans are guaranteed and administered nationwide by TERI, and funds are made available through participating lenders. Many different loan programs are offered, reaching undergraduate, graduate and professional students.

eStudentLoan
This is an outstanding site for comparing loan options, or finding a source for loans.

REPAY YOUR LOANS

KapLoan.comconsolidating your student loans with FinancialAid.com's industry-best borrower benefits. When you consolidate with FinancialAid.com you are eligible for our Borrower Benefits Package, which can reduce your interest rate by an additional 1.25%:

Higher Education Service Corporation
Provides a list of state, federal, and private loans, grants, and scholarships. Also, HESC's site details available financial aid options, eligibility requirements, how to apply, applications to download, and how to repay your loans.

Scholarships

Scholarship Help The thought of getting scholarships has always been confusing for me and this site helped me understand what I should do and helped me avoid scholarship scams.

Wirescholar a Scholarship tool contains 2.4 million scholarships worth $14 billion. Students will be required to register to access the scholarship database. Registration includes name, address, home phone number, and zip code. Once you're registered you'll walk through six steps to get scholarship information. You'll answer a variety of questions, either as a student, parent, or guidance counselor. After you're done answering all these questions, you'll get a list of available scholarships with plenty of information about each one, including deadline, extensive information about the site, award amount, requirements, and contact information.

Grants & Funding

"Startup Funds for Educational Websites"
The Institute for Interactive Journalism and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation New Voices Community News Grants help fund the start-up of 40 micro-local, news projects and support them with two educational Web sites. Maximum Award: $17,000. Eligibility: 501(c) 3 organizations and education institutions, including civic groups, community organizations, public broadcasters, schools, colleges and universities.

Transition to Teaching Grant Program
The Transition to Teaching program encourages (1) the development and expansion of alternative routes to full State teacher certification, as well as (2) the recruitment and retention of highly qualified mid-career professionals, recent college graduates who have not majored in education, and highly qualified paraprofessionals as teachers in high-need schools operated by high-need local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that operate as high-need LEAs. Technical Assistance: For technical assistance please contact the Transition to Teaching Staff at Transition to Teaching.